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IFA Board of Directors2022 New MembersBook of BiographiesJanuary 28, 2022
IFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS2022 NEW MEMBERSFRANCHISEESClint Ehlers, FASTSIGNS . 2Gary Robins, The G & C Robins Company . 2Jyoti Sarolia, Ellis Hospitality Group . 2FRANCHISORSRay Bennett, Marriott International . 4Michael Browning, Jr., Unleashed Brands . 5Steve Danon, Restaurant Brands International . 6Ericka Garza, Au Bon Pain The Bakery Café . 7Harvey Homsey, Express Services, Inc. . 8Kevin Morris, Domino’s . 8Stephen Piacentini, The Wendy’s Company. 9Page 1 of 9
CLINT EHLERSOWNER, FASTSIGNS OF WILLOW GROVE, PA AND CHERRY HILL, NJAlong with his wife Christina, Clint Ehlers first came to the FASTSIGNS network in 2007. Fulfilling a longtime entrepreneurial dream, he opened hisfirst FASTSIGNS in Culver City, California. After growing it into one ofthe top centers in the country, Ehlers sold the center in 2012 and relocatedto Pennsylvania where he now operates FASTSIGNS of Willow Grove PAand FASTSIGNS of Cherry Hill NJ.Ehlers is very active in the FASTSIGNS system having served in amultitude of roles from the Franchise Advisory Council to the National Advertising Council. Inaddition, he is very involved in the franchising community having testified against legislationdetrimental to the franchising business model both in California and Pennsylvania and wasinvited to testify to the US House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee onNLRB Joint Employer Policy. In addition, Clint is active in the International FranchiseAssociation, serving on the Franchisee Forum Board.GARY ROBINSPRESIDENT, THE G & C ROBINS COMPANYGary currently owns and operates 66 Supercuts in Pennsylvania, NewJersey, Maryland and Delaware. Prior to his current business, Gary couldbe a considered a serial entrepreneur, owning and operating businesses inretail entertainment, food service and the travel industry. Gary currentlyserves on the board of directors of the Supercuts Franchisee Association,the board of directors of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations and ispast president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the World EntrepreneursOrganization. Gary earned a bachelor of science from Drexel University in1985. He is married with three children, Lauren (27), Evan (22) and Will(18). He and his wife Chris reside in the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.JYOTI SAROLIAPRESIDENT AND CEO, ELLIS HOSPITALITY GROUPFrom a young age, Jyoti had grown up in the hospitality industry. Havinglived in the Alder Hotel owned by her family in downtown San Francisco untilthe age of 11, she learned first-hand many of the responsibilities involved inrunning & operating a successful hotel. Ranging from front-desk management,to housekeeping—you name it. Through her later years, she attended lawschool for one year in San Diego. Soon thereafter, she had an opportunity inhospitality, so she chose to go back to her roots and pursue a career. Jyotibegan her own legacy by purchasing her first hotel in 1996 where her journeybegan.Page 2 of 9
In 2018, Ellis Hospitality was founded. She serves as President & CEO, which is now a 3rdgeneration hotelier company. The name Ellis Hospitality was honored by New York City’s EllisIsland—where her family had made their way to the United States during the early years topursue the American dream. As of 2021, their portfolio includes six hotel properties throughoutCalifornia. Jyoti's responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of operations. Her focus is toprovide continued excellent service to her visitors and guests. It starts by taking care of heremployees, so they can provide excellent service & care for their guests. This has proven to bethe key to success through the years, and remains her focus today.Hotel Community InvolvementSince 2009, she’s been involved in the Choice Hotels Owners Council (CHOC) community;most recently serving as Past Chairman in 2021, and Chairman back in 2018. In 2009, she servedas a Board member of Asian American Culture Society of San Diego. From 2014 to 2017, sheserved as a Chairman of AACSSD. To learn more, visit Aacssd.com for more information.Jyoti served as a Regional Advisory Board Member (RAB), and eventually worked her way tobeing the first female Chair of an FAC association in 2018. She has served as Ambassador to theSouth Pacific Region since 2015. Jyoti has been a part of the Franchise & Industry Relations(F.A.I.R.) Committee from 2017 to 2020. Currently she is involved in the Strategic PlanCommittee at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA).She’s passionate towards government advocacy, having regularly participated in legislativesummits - so far, three in Sacramento, and eight in Washington, D.C. In July 2021, Jyoti spoke ata Senate Committee Hearing on the subject of Empowering American Workers in the 21stCentury.In 2021, she ended her term as a past Chairman of CHOC. Jyoti is excited about 2022, andcontinues to contribute to the CHOC team, expanding their impact and the overall success ofChoice & CHOC brand and entity.Hobbies & Personal LifeWhen not traveling for work, Jyoti loves to visit new countries and experience new cultures.Having traveled abroad through her early years, she's grown a deep passion for exploration. Sheenjoys shopping, cooking, reading, and entertaining guests. Hospitality runs in her blood. Shehas two children ages 18 and 20. Working from home and around their schedule helps her outtremendously.Her commitment to her family and hotel career keep her motivated. Jyoti has a deep passion forbeing a female leader and inspiring other women to be powerful and leave a lasting impact onthe world.Page 3 of 9
RAY BENNETTPRESIDENT, FRANCHISING NORTH AMERICA, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONALRaymond “Ray” Bennett was appointed President, North AmericaFranchising for Marriott International in Jan. 2021.In this role, Mr. Bennett oversees the company’s domestic franchisingbusiness as well as Managed-by-Marriott Select Brand hotels in the U.S.His P&L responsibilities consists of 4,900 franchise hotels and 300managed hotels. These business units generate a combined 25.4B inrevenue and 1.2B in EBITDA to Marriott. He also oversees Marriott’sgrowing pipeline of 1,000 hotels in the US and Canada.Mr. Bennett’s experience in the hospitality industry spans over two decades. Since 2015, heserved as Chief Global Officer, Global Operations for Marriott International, Inc. He led thedesign, development, and deployment of products and services for all 30 lodging brandsglobally. He had responsibility for brand standards, quality assurance, procurement, and theLodging Program Management Office. Disciplines overseen included Food and Beverage,Rooms Experience, Property Management Systems, Spa & Fitness, Retail, and Engineering. Mr.Bennett also had P&L responsibilities for the 400 Marriott-managed select brands in the U.S.and oversaw global operations for Marriott’s 100 Luxury residential properties.Prior to this role, Mr. Bennett was Chief Lodging Services Officer, The Americas, where he ledthe development and implementation of products and service strategies at more than 3,400 hotelsin North, Central, and South America. He was also responsible for driving brand differentiationin Food & Beverage, Room Operations, Information Resources, Engineering & Facilities, andSafety & Security. In addition, Mr. Bennett served as both the strategic and tactical businesspartner to the group's continental Chief Operations Officers and Area Vice Presidents.Mr. Bennett has extensive experience in both staff and field/line positions of increasingresponsibilities over the past twenty years at Marriott, the world’s largest hospitality company.Prior to joining Marriott in 2001, Mr. Bennett worked for the Pepsi Bottling Group for over 11years in multiple managerial positions overseeing sales, delivery operations, manufacturing,warehousing, fleet & transport operations, supply chain management, customer service,information technology, marketing, and finance.Mr. Bennett serves on the National Board of Directors of KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now), anonprofit organization that provides recreational opportunities to children and young adults withdevelopmental and physical disabilities. He also serves on the board of CollegeTracks, anonprofit organization that focuses on providing low-income, first- generation-to-collegestudents in Montgomery County, Maryland with financial aid and continued support throughtutoring and mentoring to help them graduate. In addition, Mr. Bennett serves as a member of theAcademy of Hospitality & Tourism Industry Advisory Board for Washington, DC PublicSchools. He also serves on the board of the School of Hospitality Adminstration at BostonUniversity. He is also a member of The Executive Leadership Council, a national mentoring,Page 4 of 9
networking, and development organization comprised of African American CEOs and seniorexecutives from Fortune 500 and equivalent companies. Finally, Mr. Bennett serves as a memberof the Board of Directors of Equity Residential (NYSE -EQR), one of the largest publicly tradedapartment real estate investment trusts in the USA.Mr. Bennett earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Grand Valley StateUniversity in Allendale, Michigan, where an honorary Doctoral Degree in BusinessAdministration was bestowed upon him in 2018. He currently resides in Germantown, Marylandwith his wife and their four children.MICHAEL BROWNING, JR.FOUNDER AND CEO, UNLEASHED BRANDSMichael Browning is the CEO and Founder of Unleashed Brands, aplatform company that houses the world’s best franchise brands to helpkids Learn, Play and Grow. Browning launched Unleashed in 2021 afternoticing a void in the market for parents looking for a trusted resource forkid’s activities. The growing portfolio currently includes Urban AirAdventure Park, Snapology, The Little Gym and Premier Martial Arts.In 2011, Browning launched Urban Air Adventure Park, the world’spreeminent family indoor adventure park, which has since served more than 20 million kidsannually and generated 500 million of annual systemwide revenue. Browning believes thatevery guest to come through the doors of Urban Air has a story and the company’s mission is toenhance the story through engaging atmospheres that leverage the combination of lighting,sound, attractions and a guest-centric staff.A young entrepreneur, Browning was named a rising star by the Dallas Business Journal in theirAnnual “40 Under 40” list in 2021. Urban Air has also ranked as No. 1 for the past three years inthe annual Franchise 500 list put out by Entrepreneur Magazine. The company was also rankedon the Franchise Times Top 200 list, an exclusive annual ranking of the 500 largest franchisesStarting in childhood, those who watched Browning’s passion for business recognized an innateability and vision that would help him overcome obstacles and push him to succeed. It was thispassion and determination combined with his ability to turn what is “typical” upside down thathas driven his success in creating companies. Browning’s first company founded was PhoebosPartners, a healthcare consulting firm that developed the nation’s most innovative marketinganalytics software to determine the factors leading to success in healthcare marketing.Having spent years as an entrepreneur, Browning leads the team with true insight into thechallenges that new businesses face and he doggedly pushes the team to look for new ways toovercome obstacles and break down barriers to achieving success.Page 5 of 9
STEVE DANONVICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF U.S. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS & COMMUNITY AFFAIRS,RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONALSteve Danon leads Restaurant Brands International’s (RBI) U.S. GovernmentRelations and Community Affairs efforts where he is responsible for thedevelopment and execution of a government relations strategy for thecompany in the United States. This includes identifying priority public policyinitiatives at the federal and state levels that impacts RBI’s business andworks closely with key industry associations to deliver on goals andobjectives. Additionally, Steve leads RBI’s engagement with localcommunities working with community-based organizations, businessimprovement bodies and other industry associations in Florida, and the cityof Miami where RBI’s iconic brands; Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons,and Firehouse Subs U.S. headquarters offices are based. Steve was recently named to The Hill’sTop Lobbyist 2021.Prior to joining RBI, Steve served as Senior Vice President and Chief of Public Affairs andCommunications for Food Allergy, Research and Education (FARE), the world’s largest foodallergy patient advocacy organization. Steve led FARE’s advocacy, communications, andmarketing initiatives working with opinion leaders, media, decision makers, and strategicstakeholders on the food allergy epidemic. He oversaw all external relations for FARE, acrossdigital, social, and traditional communication platforms. He also strategically led the advocacyefforts for engagement with Congress, the executive branch, regulatory agencies, state and localadvocacy organizations and other groups important to achieve FARE’s goals.Within two years, he increased grassroots from 17,000 to more than 45,000 food allergychampions, hosted two very successful “Fly-In’s” in 2020/21, to share their voice and advocatefor the FASTER Act and advocated for the creation of the Congressional Food Allergy ResearchCaucus. In 2021, due to his efforts and their congressional champions, the FASTER Act wasintroduced, and passed in the Senate/House, and signed by President Biden becoming PublicLaw 117-11 within the first 100 days of a Biden-Harris administration.Steve was fortunate to be named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyist for 2020, and FARE was awardedits first Campaigns & Elections–Non-Profit Grassroots Organization of the Year. Along theway, Steve and his team secured 4,764 media hits (who’s counting) including the NBC NightlyNews, the Today Show, The New York Times, Washington Post, and many more.Steve joined FARE following his tenure at the National Restaurant Association, where he servedas their Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications sharing their stories andleading their efforts on the national, state, and local levels. In addition, Steve had served as achief of staff to a member of Congress who was very engaged on the powerful House Committeeon Energy and Commerce.A native of Southern California, Danon graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A.in Political Science and a minor in Communications.Page 6 of 9
ERICKA GARZAGLOBAL PRESIDENT, AU BON PAIN THE BAKERY CAFÉEricka Garza is president of Au Bon Pain, responsible for setting thestrategic vision and all facets of the overall business. She is alsoaccountable for the sustainable growth and success of Au Bon Painsfranchise system.Prior to joining Au Bain Pain, she served as Executive Franchise GrowthLeader for YUM Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant companyoverseeing Pizza Hut’s domestic Traditional & Non- TraditionalFranchising business.Garza was the first female Latina executive to lead this role. Garza was instrumental in pavingthe way for multiple underrepresented people of color and women to enter the franchise system.She has a tremendous passion and a proven track record of advocating equal opportunities withinthe industry. One of her top accomplishments was to be the founder of EmpowHER! Yum’s firstWomen in Franchising conference focused on leaders from franchisees across the U.S.In addition, Garza has extensive franchising experience working at well-known, multi-nationalbrands like Boston’s Pizza, 7-Eleven, and Nokia.Throughout her career, Garza believes women have the ambition, work ethic, and talent to leadglobal businesses at the highest levels and is committed to helping increase the number ofunderrepresented minorities to pursue business education, corporate leadership, andentrepreneurship. In addition, Garza is passionate about developing new leaders and buildingstrong teams and cultures focusing on accountability and business results.Garza is alumni of Arte AC- Instituto de Estudios Superiores. She recently graduated from theExecutive Leadership Program from Cornell University’s Executive Education.She currently lives in Southlake, Texas, with her husband. They are proud parents of three grownchildren.Page 7 of 9
HARVEY HOMSEYVICE PRESIDENT OF FRANCHISE SYSTEMS, EXPRESS SERVICES, INC.Harvey H. H. Homsey is Vice President of Franchise Systems for ExpressServices, Inc., the franchisor for Express Employment Professionals.Homsey joined Express in 1989 and oversees the responsibilities for thedevelopment and implementation of the Express EmploymentProfessionals franchise sales and operating system for the over 850franchise offices in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia,and New Zealand.He also oversees the responsibilities for research and development andnew products and services for the company. Homsey serves on theMembership and Legislative and Labor Services committees of the American StaffingAssociation (ASA). He also serves on the ICFE Board of Governors, currently serving asimmediate past chair, and Franchise Relations Committee, serving as chair, of the InternationalFranchise Association (IFA).KEVIN MORRISEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL & CORPORATE SECRETARY, DOMINO'SPIZZA, INC.Kevin Morris joined Domino's as its Executive Vice President &General Counsel in January 2017 and was subsequently appointed asits Corporate Secretary in October 2018.Morris is a corporate lawyer with a global perspective cultivated fromextensive experience both in-house and in private practice supportingall facets of the development and ongoing operation of high-profilemultinational businesses around the world. His experience includesmergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, international expansion,complex commercial transactions, franchising, managing dispute resolution, corporategovernance, compliance, data privacy, intellectual property, information technology, crisismanagement and managing both legal and security & loss prevention functions.Prior to joining Domino's, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & CorporateSecretary for New York-based Equinox Holdings Inc. and the operating subsidiaries for itsportfolio of lifestyle brands that include Equinox, SoulCycle, Blink Fitness and Equinox Hotels.His previous experience includes operating his own legal practice; serving as Vice President andAssociate General Counsel of Hyatt International Corporation and Global Hyatt Corp.,predecessors in interest to Hyatt Hotels Corporation; serving as a Senior International Attorney& Staff Director of McDonald's Corporation; and beginning his legal career as an attorney in theFranchise & Distribution Practice Group with the Chicago office of Rudnick & Wolfe, apredecessor in interest to DLA Piper.Page 8 of 9
Morris holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and anundergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.STEPHEN PIACENTINIVP, GLOBAL RESTAURANT DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING, THE WENDY’S COMPANYStephen Piacentini joined Wendy’s in 2018 as the Vice President ofNorth America Restaurant Development and Recruiting. In February2019, his role expanded, and he currently serves as Vice President ofGlobal Restaurant Development and Recruiting. In this role, he isresponsible for Franchise and Corporate New Restaurant GrowthStrategy, Franchise Recruiting and Real Estate.Prior to joining Wendy’s, Stephen was the Chief Development Officerfor Jimmy John’s, and spent 13 years at Taco Bell in a variety of rolesin Finance, Strategy, Operations and Development, eventually becoming the Senior Director ofDevelopment and Facilities. In this role, he grew new restaurants by 200 per year and launchedthe Taco Bell Cantina urban expansion strategy.Stephen has a B.A. in Politics and Economics from Pitzer College, and a Master of Arts inPolicy, Economics and Business from Claremont Graduate University.Stephen and his family successfully transplanted from Orange County, CA to Columbus, OHwhere the Wendy’s love is in full effect as they seldom make it more than a few days withoutvisiting their local Wendy’s. Stephen usually goes with the Dave’s Double to enjoy double thefresh, never frozen beef.Page 9 of 9
serves on the board of directors of the Supercuts Franchisee Association, the board of directors of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations and is past president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the World Entrepreneurs Organization. Gary earned a bachelor of science from Drexel University in 1985.
